The present invention relates to a camera with a built-in electronic flash unit.
Some cameras have built-in electronic flash units. The flash tube of such a flash unit is covered with a reflector having excellent luminous intensity distribution characteristics.
An electronic flash unit is generally mounted at a predetermined position in such a manner that its reflector is mounted on a light-emission frame, and the light-emission frame is fixed to a circuit board arranged at, e.g., an upper portion of a main body.
If, however, the circuit board is fixed to the upper portion of the main body, and the light-emission frame on which the reflector is mounted in arranged on the circuit board, the circuit board is stacked on the main body and the light-emission frame is further stacked thereon. Such a mounting structure imposes great limitations on reduction in size of a camera.
In another type of camera with a built-in electronic flash unit, the front side of a camera main body is covered with a cover member obtained by printing a window on a transparent member.
If a window is printed in black on part of a transparent member in this manner, the window can be easily formed in one step as compared with, e.g., a case wherein a window hole is formed in an opaque member, and a window is formed by engaging a transparent member with the window hole.
In addition, a window can be formed into an arbitrary shape, and characters, symbols, graphic patters, colors, and the like can be simultaneously formed.
If, however, a flash window is printed on a transparent member by the above-described process method, the print portion constituting the flash window may be burned and discolored or melted by light or heat from the electronic flash unit.
The present invention has been made in consideration of such a situation, and has as its first object to provide a camera with an electronic flash unit in which the reflector of the electronic flash unit is directly mounted on the main body so as to be reliably held, thereby enabling reduction in size of the camera.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a camera with an electronic flash unit which can eliminate the above-described problem associated with the print portion constituting the electronic flash unit.